We love when the people we get to work with come to our shop for a visit! Annie came all the way from Monterrey, Mexico to tour the Boxcar Press studio, and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to show her around the shop (and the city of Syracuse) a few weeks back.
Annie works with us for photopolymer plates, and we’re amazed by the printing she’s been doing lately. Click here to visit Filomena Press on Facebook to check out some of Annie’s work!
Hey, look at it! Our building, the Delevan Center near Armory Square, received a new look thanks to the Connective Corridor project that connects cultural venues throughout the city. The “use” of Syracuse has been appearing on billboards in the area as part of a wider campaign to make these places known. There is a free Connective Corridor bus, bright red signs and flags, and now our building proclaims the theme proudly. For more information about the Connective Corridor & all these topnotch venues creating a vibrant art scene with so much to offer, go to: http://connectivecorridor.syr.edu/
Turns out, the Boxcar Press staff loves food nearly as much as they love letterpress.
In 2008, we partnered with Grindstone Farm, a 240 acre organic farm located in Pulaski, NY. Boxcar Press now subsidizes the CSA Shares for all of their employees, and provides a pick up location for the community. Turns out, it was an easy way to make a positive impact for a cause we care about! According to Grindstone owner and farmer Dick de Graff, participating in a CSA is one of the best ways to support local farmers; by purchasing a “share” of the farmer’s crops at the beginning of the season, the buyer shares in the risk and reward of whatever the season brings.
Pictured here are some of the “rewards” of this year’s harvest season, which is about to come to an end.
Interested in finding a CSA in your area? Check out localharvest.com for information on CSAs, U Pick Farms, Farmers Markets, and Co-ops near you!
We want to hear from you! We love how much letterpress community members pitch in to help others. What causes does your letterpress shop support?
Want to see more photos from our trip to Grindstone Farm & our CSA pick-up location here at Boxcar Press? Click here to view our slideshow on Flickr!
Today is CSA day, as in Community Supported Agriculture. Every week we get bins full of fresh organic, local produce delivered right to our door. This keeps us strong and healthy to do more printing and for the farms to keep growing delicious crops for the community.
We’re constantly finding cool things around Syracuse, and we love to see exciting new things happening in the area. Lots of independent businesses are springing up, there’s a great push to buy local products, and some new public art displays are just a few of the things we’re diggin’ these days.
So, needless to say, we were beyond psyched to find out that Syracuse First – a local nonprofit dedicated to getting the people of Syracuse to think, buy & be local by supporting independent businesses within the community – did a great feature on us here at Boxcar Press! Visit the Syracuse First Blog to see the full profile, and check out their website to find other great businesses around here.
We thought we’d share some of our favorite Syracuse First businesses – if you’re in the area, check them out!
Big thanks again to Syracuse First for the awesome feature!
This past weekend we held our traditional Earth Day Clean-Up, rounding up the troops to spend a bit of time cleaning up the area around our building in downtown Syracuse and the local neighborhood. Armed with sunny skies, brooms and trash bags, the crew was off and cleaning! Nothing says spring like a little spring cleaning. Big thanks to our youngest helpers, Francesa and Max, for spending the day with us and making this year’s Earth Day Clean-Up so much fun.
Last week, we were honored to have famed letterpress printer Amos Kennedy pay us a visit. In town for Amos Kennedy Prints, a special exhibition at the Community Folk Art Center at Syracuse University, Amos shared with us his love for old wood type and snapped lots of photos of our newly expanded print shop. (Also, it should be noted that Amos is one of the funniest guys we’ve ever met and had us cracking up the whole time he was here.)
(Umm…we may or may not have been really excited to have Amos drop by for a while.)
Of course, it was only fitting for a Boxcar contingency to go visit Amos in action on the opening day of the exhibit where his passion for wood type, bold color and political innuendo took center stage. As a sponsor of the exhibition, one of our old Vandercooks stands proud and at the ready now through April 4. More details can be found at the Community Folk Art Center’s website. If you’re in the Syracuse area, don’t miss the chance to take part in this special event. Thanks for stopping by, Amos!
A couple of weeks ago we were excited to once again have the opportunity to donate a bunch of paper to local art programs and schools around the city. We’ve been donating paper to local schools annually (if not more frequently) for the last few years and it’s something that never stops being rewarding. We love doing our little part to help kids foster their creativity!
The teachers come in droves and bring big boxes and hand carts to scoop up as much paper as they can. We roll out big palettes and carts full of paper and envelopes and load them up with as much as they can carry.
Thanks to our esteemed press operator, Carrie, for helping organize our paper donation this year!
It’s Tuesday, which in our neck of the woods means it’s CSA day. (At least during the summer and fall harvest season, that is.) Boxcar Press proudly (and enthusiastically!) subsidizes CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships for employees through a local organic farm, Grindstone Farm. Once a week, a big van full of freshly picked organic veggies shows up at our door and we always get a kick out of digging through the boxes to see what we have that week. This year we’ve been eating a lot of rainbow chard, kale, bokchoy, a variety of lettuces, onions, garlic, lots of beautiful tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini galore.
Here is a quick peek at today’s share – parsley, patty pan squash, three varieties of tomatoes, baby carrots, two varieties of radishes, lemon basil, lots of tomatillos and the first of this season’s apples.
With tomatillos greeting us week after week, we’ve all been sharing ideas on how to best use them up. The verdict is that a great roasted tomatillo salsa can’t be beat. We love this recipe from epicurious – it’s simple, quick and tasty. Does it get much better?
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
5 fresh serrano chiles (or sub the peppers of your choice; remove the seeds for less heat)
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Preheat broiler or grill.
Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, onion and tomatillos on rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat (or on the grill), turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes. Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.
Allow to cool to room temperature and serve with your favorite chips or Mexican fare. Enjoy!
